The first thing you have to do when the alarm siren goes off is to put on your helmet to prepare for the tremor (there are usually helmets readily available for emergencies everywhere in Tokyo, but if you have no helmet, try to find something to protect your head and/or crawl under and hold onto a table to protect yourself in case of falling objects).

Colleagues in the office with their helmets on!

同僚と一緒にヘルメットを装備しました。

Important: DO NOT leave the building before the earthquake is over!

Contrary to what may be your first instincts, you should NOT try to leave the building during the earthquake. It is true that being outside and far from any building during an earthquake and its aftershocks would be ideal, but actually traversing a building (and its immediate surroundings) during an earthquake is a terrible idea and near impossible. Walking and running during an earthquake is dangerous as the floor/ground is moving! Studies in Japan have showed that traversing as little as ~10 ft (3 m) during an earthquake significantly increases your odds of injury.

Moreover, because of building codes, very few buildings in Japan actually collapse during earthquakes, despite taking serious damage.

In other words, staying in the building is much safer than being outside!

そして、３６階から1階のロビーまで階段で降りました。20分ぐらいかかりました！1階に着いた時、足はちょっと麻痺していました… T.T

After the tremors end, evacuate via the stairs. At my office, we had to climb down from the 36F to the ground floor which took about 20 minutes (and was a lot more tiring than I expected - my legs were numb!).

Also practiced with a fire extinguisher during a fire drill! It was my first time using one.

また、消防訓練で 消火器を使って訓練しました。私にとって実物を使うのは、初めての事でした。

There was an emergency food distribution station at the Lobby waiting for everyone to collect after evacuating.

保存水をもらうために、ロビーで皆が並んでいました。

Received my emergency pack!

私も保存パックをもらいました！

The emergency pack included water, biscuits, and rice, among other long shelf-life foods! They were actually tastier than I had expected~ ;P

All in all, I have no doubt that Japan is possibly one of the most efficient places to be in the event of any disaster! I have heard that even in major earthquakes, people still line up in an orderly fashion at convenience stores to get supplies. Simply cannot imagine that happening in many other places in the world!

Disclaimer

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